Gorkana meets…Last Word

Gary Corcoran, editorial director at Last Word which publishes financial titles International Adviser, Portfolio Adviser, Expert Investor and Fund Selector Asia, on the publisher’s recent rebrand, its push into video content and how PRs can help amplify its coverage.

Can you tell us about the recent website rebrand at Last Word?

Last Word celebrated its 10th birthday at the end of 2015 so we took this as the perfect opportunity to have a look at all the brands that make up the business. We gave them an entirely new look and feel that is not only consistent with the values of the company as a whole but also ties all the individual brands (International Adviser, Portfolio Adviser, Expert Investor and Fund Selector Asia) together more readily (and recognisably!) under the Last Word umbrella.

What is the target audience for the four publications?

The audience differs slightly depending on the brand but, in general, the titles are all aimed at professional fund selectors, asset allocators and portfolio constructors. International Adviser also has a holistic financial planning audience among global intermediaries.

Who are your competitors in the space?

Again, there are competitors depending on each brand and the varied platforms they engage with the audience. I would not want to generalise here so I’ll leave it up to those who think they compete with us to carry on doing so…

How are decisions made on which content is kept purely in your digital magazines and which is included in the print version?

If it is a newsworthy story and needs to be put in front of our readers immediately, then it goes online first. All magazine content that is normally feature or opinion driven and requires more in-depth analysis goes online during the week after it has been published.

International Adviser serves a global audience – with such a broad remit, how do you decide what makes it into the magazine?

International Adviser’s remit is to serve the global intermediary market that use cross-border insurance, investment, banking and pension products on behalf of their high-net worth clients. Anything we see as relevant is included in the magazine and online.

How can PRs best help with your titles?

By providing details of spokespeople on the relevant topics and issues; make personal contact with the editorial teams to meet and discuss what we do and what their clients do to see where the two overlap; suggest ideas for topics to cover and high-profile individuals to interview.

Are there any regions you’d like to extend your editorial in?

We are always looking…

What is your social media strategy?

We actively use Twitter and LinkedIn to constantly communicate with our growing diverse audiences, informing them of news stories, analysis, unique opinion, market data, as well as a source for potential news leads.

You’ve mentioned before that you’re planning more around video; can you tell us a little more about this?

We are currently looking at our video strategy as part of an overall plan to communicate more effectively and efficiently with our readers and prospect readers across all of the brands, wherever in the world they may be.

And finally, what advice can you give to graduates looking to get into your field of journalism?

Showing initiative by studying for the NCTJ; doing a post-grad qualification if they don’t have a journalism degree; working on a local newspaper – hard and often thankless work, but brilliant grounding!

Gary was speaking to Gorkana’s Louise Pantani